Dr. Roger Härtl recently lectured at the two-day AO Spine Advanced Live Surgery Course in Lahore, Pakistan. As one of the world’s foremost experts on minimally invasive spine surgery (MISS), he led many talks and demonstrations during the course.
Dr. Härtl started the first session by introducing and explaining the evolution of MISS. He returned later on to perform a live surgical demonstration which showed his techniques in treating lumbar disc herniation.
On the second day, Dr. Härtl participated in a Socratic debate arguing the efficacy and superiority of anterior lumbar interbody fusion (ALIF). Following a live surgery demonstration of open interbody fusion, he discussed scenarios involving excessive bleeding and cerebrospinal fluid leak. As the last session began, he gave his keynote, the “Six Ts of MISS,” which he had also presented via a webcast to an AOSpine conference in Erbil, Iraq just two days before.
During the two-day surgery course, attendees learned about new technologies and techniques as they observed debates about the pros and cons of minimally invasive surgery. Participants were invited to interact with Dr. Härtl as he demonstrated surgical techniques.
Participants consisted of surgeons with three to ten years of experience in spine surgery as well as specialists who sought to expand their knowledge and repertoire.
